The Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE) is the military engineer branch of the Canadian Armed Forces. Members of the branch who wear army uniform comprise the The Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE); (Corps du génie royal canadien).

The mission of the RCE is to contribute to the survival, mobility, and combat effectiveness of the Canadian Armed Forces. Their roles are to conduct combat operations, support the Canadian Forces in war and peace, support national development, provide assistance to civil authorities, and support international aid programs. Military engineers’ responsibilities encompass the use of demolitions and land mines, the design, construction and maintenance of defensive works and fortifications, urban operations (hostile room entry), breaching obstacles, establishing/maintaining lines of communication, and bridging. They also provide water, power and other utilities, provide fire, aircraft crash and rescue services, hazardous material operations, and develop maps and other engineering intelligence. In addition, military engineers are experts in deception and concealment, as well as in the design and development of equipment necessary to carry out these operations. The official role of the combat engineer is to allow friendly troops to live, move and fight on the battlefield and deny that to the enemy.

Back in the day, the author was taken on strength as a Sapper with the 56th Field Squadron, RCE, St. Johns, Newfoundland, on 23 February 1971.

Sapper C.W. Stevens of the 18th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers, using a mirror to locate the igniters underneath a German Teller mine, France, 22 June 1944. (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3191657)

Soli Dubash, father of Anneke Dubash, is manning the crane in this photo of the 4th Canadian Armoured Division Bridging Troop, RCE, constructing a pontoon bridge across the Ems River at Meppen, Germany, 8 April 1945. (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3224531)

Personnel of the 9th Field Squadron, Royal Canadian Engineers, lifting rails to make a road for Canadian vehicles near the Hochwald, Germany, 2 March 1945. (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3529255)

Personnel of the Royal Canadian Engineers (R.C.E.), 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, pushing a storm boat into the Ems River south of Emden, Germany, 28 April 1945. (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524899)

A number of Canadian post war Shermans in Canada were converted into turretless APCs. This one appears to be in use as an armoured recovery vehicle based on the tow bar attached at the rear, but it may also have been used as a driver trainer. The headlights and guards on the glacis plate appear to have been taken from a Centurion and the box in the middle of the glacis plate is a Centurion driver's windscreen stowage box. It also appears that the Centurion tank front fenders have been attached to the front of the Sherman. The exhausts have been re-routed up the rear of the hull as indicated by the dual stacks. This is reminisent of privately owned post war Shermans used for logging and other industries. Jason Bobrowich.

Nine Centurion Armoured Recovery Vehicles (ARV) were purchased for the Canadian Army in 1954. The tank turret was replaced by a superstructure housing a winch powered by an auxiliary engine and capable of pulling of up to 90 tons using a system of blocks. The ARV was armed with a single .30 inch machine gun on the commander's cupola. It was used by many different units including the RCEME and 4 Engineer Support Regiment at CFB Gagetown for the recovery of heavy armour and vehicles bogged down in the muddy terrain during training operations until the arrival of the Badger ARV.

The M578 an American designed armoured recovery vehicle in service with the Canadian Army. It provided maintenance support to mechanized infantry and artillery units and to recover disabled light armored vehicles using its crane boom. The cab can rotate 360°, and has a 30,000 lb (13,600 kg) capacity winch was run through a crane on the cab. Another winch, 60,000 lb (27,000 kg) capacity, was mounted on the front of the cab. The crane operator and rigger both had vision cupolas in the cab roof. The M578 was designed with systems to be powered even while the vehicle was shut off. An auxiliary system drove an onboard generator as well as hydraulic pumps which, in turn, supplied drive power to the cab, the boom arm, a pair of winches, and an anchor spade - the latter fitted to the rear of the hull. It was armed with a heavy machine gun fitted on the turret roof. They have been used at CFB Gagetown by the RCEME and by 4 Engineer Support Regiment.

AVGP Husky ARV

The AVGP (Armoured Vehicle General Purpose) Husky is an Armoured Recovery Vehicle (ARV) operated by a two-man crew. The Husky is designed to provide mechanical support for the other two AVGP vehicles. The Husky served with the 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise’s), C Squadron, The Royal Canadian Dragoons, 2nd Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment, 4 Canadian Engineer Regiment and 5th Canadian Division Training Centre at CFB Gagetown until they were replaced by the LAV III.

The Badger Armoured Engineering Vehicle is designed to provide engineer support to mechanized combat forces. It is capable of performing a wide range of tasks under battlefield conditions including dozing, ripping, excavating, craning, grappling, welding, cutting, winching, and towing”.

The Badger AEV is capable of dozing 270 cubic meters per hour with a maximum dozing speed of 8 km/h. The dozer blade is equipped with two ripper teeth that are used when backing up. The vehicle is also capable of excavating up to 140 cubic meters per hour when fitted with a 1.5 meter wide bucket. It can also be fitted with a smaller 0.8 meter-wide bucket with a capacity of 0.6 cubic meters. The AEV is capable of operating in a crane mode with a maximum lifting capacity of 7.8 tonnes. The excavator arm can be fitted with two grappling teeth for picking up large objects. The Badger is also equipped with an electric welding and cutting unit and a CAPSTAN winch. The winch as a pulling capacity of 35 tonnes and a cable length of 90 meters. The Badger is capable of carrying and deploying the class 60 Track Way (portable road sections) as well as fascine (a large bundle of tubes used to fill in anti-tank ditches, creating a crossing site). The class 60 Track Way is carried on the dozer blade and is deployed by the winch. The fascine is carried on the back deck and is placed using the excavator arm with the grappling teeth. The AEV is powered by a V-10, twin super charged, 830 horsepower, multi-fuelled engine. It is equipped with an NBCD system that provides protection against nuclear, biological, and chemical agents. It is also equipped with eight smoke/HE grenade dischargers. (TanknutDave.com)

(Author Photo)

T-LAV MTV-R (Mobile Tactical Vehicle Recovery) Recovery vehicle, equipped with a 20,000 kg winch and an integrated crane. This is an M113 ARV variant with Palfinger crane, RCEME, 5 Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown, New Brunswick.